Hui Aloha

Urban Honolulu, HI

Hui Aloha is an effort to call all of us back to aloha, the abiding sense of connection and "oneness" that is Hawaiʻi's gift to us all.  

In the frenzy of modern life, it is easy to lose sight of our interconnection, and to lose our capacity for openness, listening, and relationship-building that are essential to keeping our connection alive. Nowhere is this more evident than in our struggle to address homelessness as a community, with public discussions characterized by frustration, division, stereotypes, and dehumanization. The volunteers of Hui Aloha were looking for a way through the division and back to connection.  

We started by reaching out to houseless people and building relationships. Over the past two years, the effort has evolved to include:

  • partnering with houseless leaders to build or strengthen community within their camps

  • supporting the efforts of houseless people to be of service to the wider community, helping them address problems like litter, vandalism, and park maintenance

  • establishing regular weekly beach and park cleanups as one form of service and community-building

  • supporting efforts to share personal stories that illustrate the diversity and humanity of houseless individuals, and that build understanding about them

  • helping houseless leaders connect with neighbors, community associations, neighborhood boards, and elected leaders

  • inspiring and guiding houseless leaders with examples from Puʻuhonua O Waiʻanae, a self-organized and run houseless community on Oʻahu’s west side.


Through this work, we've learned that community-building starts with supporting efforts to take care of place and each other. We've learned that as community grows it provides the healing, hope, and purpose that all of us need to thrive. We've learned that building community can offer a better solution than creating new laws or programs, and that community is sometimes the only solution when institutions are failing. Finally, we've learned that it is often those with the least who engage in the greatest acts of aloha, providing examples for the rest of us to follow. We continually learn from the model of Puʻuhonua O Waiʻanae and by practicing community-building in our own lives and neighborhoods.

Our Actions

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